1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique in which an image is recorded by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, and particularly to an image recording technique in which an image is recorded on a recording medium by performing a plurality of main scannings in which a line image is formed by ejecting liquid onto a recording medium from a recording head moving in the main scanning direction.
2. Related Art
In JP-A-2009-292129, an image recording device is disclosed in which an image is printed on a recording medium by ejecting ink as liquid from nozzles included in a recording head opposing to a recording medium which is supported on a platen. The recording head of the image recording device includes a plurality of nozzles aligned in the width direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, and is configured to be movable in the main scanning direction which is orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction. In addition, the recording head performs the main scanning in which liquid is ejected toward the recording medium from each nozzle while moving in the main scanning direction. By performing the main scanning, a plurality of lines of an image (line images) which are formed by one nozzle, and extend in the main scanning direction are aligned in the sub-scanning direction.
Meanwhile, in the above described image recording device, it is possible to obtain an image with higher resolution by performing a plurality of main scannings. Specifically, it is preferable to perform the plurality of main scannings by alternately executing the main scanning and the sub-scanning in which the recording head is moved in the sub-scanning direction. That is, after a main scanning, a sub-scanning starts scanning, and the recording head moves in the sub-scanning direction. In addition, the main scanning is performed again subsequent to the sub-scanning, and the recording head moves in the main scanning direction. In this manner, a line image due to new main scanning is formed between the plurality of line images which are formed in advance by the previous main scanning. It is possible to print an image with higher resolution by performing the plurality of main scannings by alternately executing the main scanning and the sub-scanning in this manner, and by forming a new line image between the previously formed line images.
However, when such printing is performed, there has been concern that the following problems may arise due to the fact that the recording medium stretches in the sub-scanning direction due to moisture or temperature. That is, in a configuration in which a new line image is formed between the plurality of line images which are already formed, line images which are formed by the main scanning performed at a different time are adjacent to each other in the sub-scanning direction. For this reason, there has been a concern that, when the adjacent line images are formed, the recording medium stretches in the sub-scanning direction before a next main scanning starts, and thus, gaps between the line images, in which liquid (ink) are missed, may occur.